Memories
by Kesshou Uryou
Summary: Because spirits never died.


**Memories  
**_Kesshou Uryou_

_Because spirits never died._

**Disclaimer:** If I owned _Spirited Away_, I'd think I would be actually capable of drawing. God forbid otherwise with how the film would turn out and all.

Chihiro was a relatively lucky girl. She had parents that cared albeit didn't always show it in the right constructive way. She had been able to keep in contact with those she had left behind when she had moved. She had managed to charm some new classmates into being her close friends by stepping out of the shadows to show her loyalty and courage.

It was endearing, really.

But most of all, she had survived unharmed, along with her parents, a journey to a world unlike her own. Where sprits reigned and parents could transform to pigs. And she had met some people she knew she'd never forget. Even the ones that had caused her ill in one way or another.

But she did forget. She did not have that chance to hold on to something as impossible as flowing water. A few fateful steps were all it took to emerge without remembrance and care. Somehow she had grown to look upon things more openly and with just that surprising flutter of optimism. It was not questioned. It was a good thing.

No, she did not suffer.

She had, however, left behind those that had. Those that could not forget. And sometimes that was the greatest burden out of everything held up ruefully in their faces. With an engraved image of a smiling girl that seemed to be hoarding that beauty inside instead of letting it daunt on her round face. That one that should have never been there in the first place.

And they knew it was doing them no good. They knew it was only going to be harder to let go later, but they couldn't stop.

They watched her grow. They watched her shine. They watched her marry and have kids and smile and cry. Too many things to ever forget. More memories. And it was all too depressing to watch the little girl get older and older without her ever offering a thought of those she left behind as she moved unknowingly on. And it was so disheartening to see her gray and whiter and shrink and rot away while they themselves hadn't aged a day. Because they never would.

Immortality was almost as bad as the memories, and it was no coincidence they walked hand in hand. But the memories were the number one enemy because they, in turn, caused pain to those who lived forever.

And they knew. They knew too well. This is why humans were never meant to establish contact with their kind. But she had recklessly stumbled in tainting what was good and everlasting with such an evil like death.

She became one of the human world's little birds who had perched just long enough to entice the beholder. And the next moment, she had cruelly flown away like a bird always did with passing seasons, passing time. With instinct and a command it had flapped off into the sky until it could no longer be seen.

And when that little bird could flutter no more, they watched her die. So different and unrecognizable with only that little Chihiro quality left in her that no one else could have and no one else could ever grasp. Her unique bit to a personality that had stood the test of time as long as it very well could.

Spirits could watch and remember and never lose sight of yesterday in an unlimited promise of tomorrows. And that was the worse curse of all. Memories would always keep them bound and linked to a fading and disappearing and ultimately dead brief moment of time. They'd never be able to fully move on.

Because spirits never died.

But birds did.

And humans did too.

**This is… well it started as something completely different, but I think this suits _Spirited Away_ better than my original idea. I'll just recycle that one then. It's good, I think. Anyway, breaking into this, well fandom, didn't seem to be too disastrous in my first attempt. Here's another (too short for my own standards) contribution. And I'm still miraculously thinking of doing that multi-chap fic one day. Probably still a long time until then if I do it… but let's see if I can garner any reviews here first.**


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